Tuesday, April 01, 2008 Antalan: SIMC By Rogelio Antalan Dateline Igacos
SIMC (pronounced Sim-C) is the acronym for Samal Island Multipurpose Cooperative. It is not well known in the whole of Davao region but it is a household name in the entire Igacos.
The story of SIMC can qualify for Ripley's Believe It Or Not. It started on July 16, 1967 with an initial paid-up capital of P75 with 15 incorporators who contributed P5 each with no staff.
Today, SIMC has a total asset of P149 million, with 43 employees, and over 10,000 members.
In a way, it is a miraculous story. It sort of died a number of times for various reasons but it came back to life every time. It survived two changes of its official name and three registration requirements of the ever-changing coop national authorities.
During its recent 31st General Assembly last Sunday, March 30, 2008, more than 3,000 members attended. It declared 18 percent dividend of the members' capital share and gave each member P200 for meal allowance and incentive for attending the assembly. It has maintained a very low 4 percent delinquency rate for the last few years. And its biggest problem is over liquidity.
It started as a parish project under the initiative of the parish priest, Fr. Guy Lamoreau, PME, a Canadian missionary. The first chairman of the board was the late highly respected Judge Nicomedes Gumia. Most of the first members were parishioners of the Catholic Church.
During the Martial Law days, the local government took over the coop and added the farmers as members under the Samahang Nayon Movement. A lot of government funds came in to bolster the finances of the coop. A severe drought however hit the island in the early 1980's and the farmers could not pay their loan obligations.
In a move to survive, the coop diversified its members and the whole island embraced the struggling coop.
The original name of the coop was the Peñaplata Parish Credit Cooperative Union, Inc. (PPCCUI). It was officially registered in 1971 with the then Cooperative Administration Office (CAO). In 1975, it was again registered with the Bureau of Cooperative Organization Development (BCOD) due to policy changes of the coop movement. Then in 1991, it was re-registered with the Cooperative Development Agency (CDA) changing its name to the present Samal Island Multipurpose Cooperative.
Moving away from the parish, away from the predominantly farmer members to the whole island membership, the coop progresses by leaps and bounds.
Looking back, the problems confronting SIMC seemed insurmountable, such as, the string of leadership failures, the usual collection problems, the lack of clear-cut policies, and natural calamities such as drought. But a lot of agencies came to the rescue.
The Department of Trade and Industry provided soft loans. There was massive educational campaign for capability building through the strong guidance of the CDA. Special mention goes to the Mindanao Alliance of Self-Help Society (MASS), Southern Philippines Educational Cooperation (Spec), and the Canadian program called Society Development Information Desjardines (Sdid).
It is to the credit of the members who sacrificed a lot by assiduously attending all the seminars and workshops given for free. Of course, the increased membership helped a lot to improve the capitalization.
In its entirely, SIMC nowadays promotes self-reliance among its members and contributes to the growth and development of the entire island. The main functions are savings and credit facilities. These are the special programs and projects of the coop, namely: Housing Assistance Program, Motor/Vehicle Plan, Micro Enterprise for Women, Educational Plan Assistance for High School Students, a gasoline station, and the Capital Build-Up Program (through savings and time deposits). It has its main office in Peñaplata, Samal district and branches in the districts of Babak and Kaputian. All its offices are situated in choice lots and all their buildings are concrete.
Mila Solamo, the present general manager, says that after "all the blood, sweat, and tears shed by the officers, staff and coop members", SIMC was given the highest award in December 2000 known as the Foccus (Finance Organization Achieving Certified Credit Union Standards), the Recognition as a Model Cooperative, Special Citation for attaining Natcco Firm brand and the Century Coop Award.
SIMC, however, has to do something about its excess funds. Over-liquidity is a happy fault, but a fault just the same. The incoming officers are aware of the problem and are already mapping out new income-generating investment projects.
Finally, it is good to remember what Senator Rodolfo Biazon said when he visited Samal a few years ago. With extensive know-how on cooperatives, he believes that the main ingredients of success in the cooperative movement are the members who have made great sacrifices, are deeply involved, alert and vigilant.
This is very noticeable at SIMC. At SIMC, it is people who count.
